Something really strange happened today…
What better reason, then, to nip down to Pugneys Lake for a little snooze in the sun and to start my sumptuous looking new book Peaches for Monsieur le Curé by Joanne Harris. I slipped into the first pages like melted chocolate and can’t wait to read on.
In three words:Charming, family, WW1
I had seen a few reviews of this book recently as it is a newly re-published book by Persophone so when I caught sight of this small, battered and stained copy languishing on the shelves of my library (also apparantly neglected as it has only been checked out twice in four years) I knew it had to come home with me.
What a wonderful and charming book this is. Written in 1932, Greenbanks tells the story of the Ashton family spanning from around 1910 to 1925. It is centered around the house, Greenbanks, in the Lancashire village of Elton, and revolves mainly around Louisa Ashton, Mother and Grandmother. Louisa has five (very different) children who have all started to make their own way in the world too and so Louisa dotes on her 4 year old Granddaughter, Rachel. Greenbanks may be a lovely, beautifully written book about a family in a grand old house but there is plenty of room for sibling rivalry, illegitimate births, divorce, tyranical fathers and heartache. In fact all these are done so well that I was in awe of how well Whipple understood human emotion such as depression, jealousy, shame and love.
The book is set at during the early part of the last century when ideas and ideals are shifting and in particular Whipple explores the changing roles of women at this time. Louisa is the gentle, kind head of Greenbanks (after her philandering husband dies) but her daughters are exploring new territories that are still thought of as a huge embarassment to the gossiping folks of Elton. Daughters Letty and Laura both carving out new paths for themselves and lodger Kate Barlow still lives the shame and stigma of having an illegitimate child all those years ago. Granddaughter Rachel, much to her Father Ambrose’s profound disappointment, is intelligent and is desperate to continue her studies at University when she grows up, but Ambrose wants a dutiful daughter who will greet him at the door and “take his hat”.
The character of Ambrose Harding is actually one of my favourite characters despite his prigishness and I found him (unintentionally on his part) very amusing: he is so old-fashioned and is constantly baffled as to why people don’t behave the way he expects and wants them to.
“And he did not believe in all this education for women; in fact, he considered knowledge definitely unbecoming to them. It destroyed their charm; they did not listen so well if they knew too much.”
“That’s what this modern education did for them. These modern girls, smoking, riding motor-bicycles, flying airplanes, breaking speed records; they would do anything for notice. What else could it be for? Men did these things for the love of them, to try them out, or to advance knowledge, experience, but women did them for notice, just to get into the papers, to be made a fuss of.”
The quotes made me laugh, especially when I think of how times have changed now. But even with Ambroses sexist rants I could still sympathise with him to a degree as he was born in an age where men were head of the house and no one (especially a wife or daughter) would ever question him. His three other children (all boys) were a huge disappointment to him also as they didn’t follow the direction he wanted them to follow and went their own way; Ambrose felt unloved and and couldn’t understand why. Such a brilliantly drawn character.
A final quote that made me laugh (because it could have been me saying it) Iwas when Letty who in frustration cries:
“”Is there something wrong with me?” she asked in alarm. “This is no more than other women have to put up with. Why don’t I like housekeeping?”"
Verdict: I highly recommend this gorgeous book. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea (or in the bath, or in the postoffice queue….pretty much anywhere really). Loved it!
In three words:Heartwarming, family, love
It has taken me years to get round to reading this book – YEARS I tell ya! This wasn’t my first attempt at reading Little Women, although it was the first time that I have read the whole thing through to the end. Despite loving the films since I was a child (particularly the 1949 version with Elizabeth Taylor and June Allyson) every time I picked the book up, I could only stomach a few pages without wanting to throw up. So, with attempt number trillion and one this Christmas, how did I manage to get through it? Not sure but who cares – I LOVED it!
It is said that all readers (and viewers) will relate more to one March sister than the others. Not being in the least bit domesticated (Beth), vain (Meg) or spoilt (Amy) that would make me more like Jo, as aside from her love of books (check), Wikipedia describes her as ” clumsy, blunt, opinionated, and jolly, her behavior is often most unladylike” my husband would be sure to agree in a flash that yes, I am indeed Jo.)
So, what once made me cringe and slighty vomit, this time around had me swooning into my hankerchief and devouring every page as if I were there in Concord, Mass. in the snow with lanterns, singing songs by the fire and warming Marmees slippers for her before she gets home from do-gooding. Who’da thunk? Seriously though, I genuinely loved this book.
I read somewhere that Alcott was more well known for writing sensations novels (of which I really must check out) and that she was asked to write a book like this instead. When reading it, several times I did wonder if she had deliberately gone over the top with her narrative and morality but either way, this time around I found it endearing and comforting (which is probably what she was going for). The overriding message of the book for me was about learning lessons (there are a lot of these to be learnt, but they are never done in a preachy way) and overcoming obstacles but at the heart of the book is a family that loves each other and sticks together through thick and thin: maybe it was because I read it over Christmas at a time when I caught up with all my family, but I found it really heart-warming.
Jo was by far my favourite character: she’s fiesty, funny and brave. One of the my favourite parts, though, and the one that made me laugh the most starred Meg and her attempt at being a housewife once she had moved into her tiny home with new husband, John Brooks. One afternoon she decides to surprise him to her culinary delights by making jam before he comes home from work. What ensues is the sort of chaos that I can only describe as having hit my own kitchen on the odd occasion that I have decided to surprise my husband with a little domesticity. In Meg’s case, her husband arrived home to find jam and fruit and a crying wife all over the kitchen. In my case, my husband has usually arrived home to find an equal amount of mess but with a wife laughing hysterically and a rather odd concoction of some sorts served for tea. He’s a lucky man!
Verdict: A true joy to read and one I think I will revist again at some time. Think of it like a tonic or a soothing balm on your frazzled nerves. Lovely.
1949 film - my favourite
Heartwarming, sweet, festive
These books aren’t on sales in the UK shops (not that I have seen anyway). The first time I came across a Donna van Liere book was on a visit to the USA a few years ago in December; we were at a little village in New Jersey with my American family and browsing in a Christmas shop when I saw a pile of these little books on a table and I just had to have them – they looked so welcoming and delicious. I read the first three while in NYC over the next 2 days and I have read them several times since. I ordered this latest book online and read it this weekend and it still had the exact same magic of all the others.
Gretchen has moved to Grandon (the setting of all her books) with her two small children to be closer to her Mum. While unpacking she meets the very odd and reclusive Melissa, her new next-door-neighbour, who is determined to be unwelcoming and succeeds. Melissa had a horrible childhood with a drunk, uncaring mother and when she finds out that her mother has died, Melissa doesn’t feel anything except relief and rebuffs Gretchens offer of help to clean out her mothers appartment. Once she gives in though, she finds a half fisnished note from her mother to herself that opens up a whole new world to her…
These books wouldn’t be for everyone, I accept that. They are very sweet and some may find them too sweet. I just adore them though; they are full of hope and kindness and salvation and magic and they have the most gorgeous covers ever. I have loved every one of Donna van Liere’s Christmas books and reading this latest one has made me want to go back to my shelf and read the others all over again.
Verdict: If you are feeling bah humbug at Christmas, these books cannot fail to cheer you up. Just lovely.
In three words:Vintage, magical, nostalgic
♪ ♫ Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way…♪ ♫
What a wonderful book to read in the run up to Christmas. I have just been swept away on a tide of vintage clothes, soaps and old-school glamour.
Miracle on Regent Street is about Evie Taylor, the stockroom girl at Hardy’s – a 100 year old department store in London – and despite feeling that her talents should lie on the shop floor, she is completely invisible to anyone else who works there (OK, she’s not exactly invisble as oposed to blending into the background so much that the entire staff still call her Sarah which is the name of her predecessor of two years before). One day, right at the beginning of December, Evie overhears a conversation between the owner of Hardy’s and her manager, and it horrified to realise that if Hardy’s fortunes don’t turn around before Boxing Day they will all be out of jobs. What follows is Evie’s secret attempt to turn the shop around before Christmas, with a little help from some rather unexpected corners – Sam the delivery boy, Lily from the tea-shop who still dresses as though she’s going to a tea dance from the good old days, Felix the security guard and a couple of eastern european cleaners. I loved the whole cast of characters in this book, and despite wanting to shout at Evie for not standing up for herself (I’m not one for keeping my mouth shut if something bugs me at work 
), I still found her engaging and routed for her and her friends throughout.
One of the things I loved about this book was the wonderful nostalgic trip through a long-ago age where shop assistants spent time with customers, women were made to feel like women and a trip to the department store was a special treat. The transformation of the store through Evie and her secret elves made me long to be part of that world and I could see this wonderful place so clearly in my mind that I wanted to wander round the stalls and browse through the gold compacts, crystal perfume bottles and vintage peep-toe shoes (and this from someone who is not remotely a girly girl!); I wanted to glide down the huge wooden staircase and pick up the handbags, trilbys and corsets and then pop into the tearoom for tea and cake, red lipstick and stockings firmly in place.
I do love a chicklit book now and then, but I have to say that this is one of the most sophisticated that I have read; it didn’t have the cheesiness or sickliness of some and instead it had old fashioned glamour, romance, wit and warmth and it was a delight to read.
Verdict: If you are looking for a christmassy feel-good read then please, please look no further than this book. It is a real treat.
(Source: I received this book for review from Simon & Schuster)
Memoirs of a smitten reader…There are many books that don’t want to seem to let me go after I have finished those final pages; books that I can’t stop thinking about or that haunt my thoughts for days, even weeks afterwards. I love those books – the ones that get under your skin. However, how many of those book do I still remember years later? Yes, there are books that I look back fondly, even passionately upon, but it is a really special book that stays in my mind so vividly years and years later that every now and then I will be taken completely unawares when one of the characters sneeks into my head and waves hello.
One such book that has that effect on my is Memoirs of a Geisha which I read in the summer of 2003. I can clearly remember entering the Japanese tea houses and walking under the cherry blossom trees so much so that whenever I looked up from my book I was surprised to find myself still sat on a sofa in a house in Yorkshire. I was so emmersed in sayuri’s life for the few days that it took me to read it that I actually felt as though I’ve lost a friend once I had finished: I felt lost without her and her world. Even now, every now and then, I find myself thinking about not only Sayuri but also Mameha, the Chairman, Nobu and even Hatsumomo and wondering what became of them.
Memoirs of a Gesiha is a breathtakingly beautiful book and one that will stay with me for a long, long time. And when I stop remembering…..I will read it again.
Oh but they do talk, James….This is THEEEE most difficult challenge day yet. I am a huge animal-lover and I have a real soft spot for books with them, about them or narrated by them. Funnily enough, if a book is supposed to be narrated by a child, unless it is really well done – e.g. ROOM – then they generally make me cringe. However, a book narrated by a dog……well! That’s differnt. It cvan be heartwarming or pure comedy gold.
After umming and ahhhing for ages which book to pick (I don’t want to offend said animals who didn’t quite make it, you see) I have decided to include twelve books today. Yes, TWELVE!
So, in no particular order:
Animal Farm by George Orwell
I read it in one evening and even skipped dinner for this book. I cried my way through half of it and I still think about those animals now. Boxer broke my heart (if you’ve read it you’ll know what I mean 
).
The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
This book is actually called Lorelei’s Secret in the UK, but I bought it when I was in NYC on a long weekend about 6 or 7 years ago and read it on the flight home. A man’s wife dies by falling out of an apple tree and the only witness is the couple’s dog, Lorelei, so he tries to teach her to speak to that she can tell him what happened. Loved it.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
You all know what I think about this book. I fell in love with Richard Parker the bengal tiger. Still love him now.
Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong
My all-time favourite book, and not just because there are animals in it but it’s all the better for them being there. Wolves, horses, foxes, they’re all in there. And if the baby wolf cub doesn’t break your heart, I think it’s possible you may not be human. Sigh.
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
Yes, the rather sexy R-Patz stars in the recent movie (always a bonus) but before even he came along, I fell in love with Rosie the elephant and Queenie the dog in this book. Superb book.
A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
Read this on a plane to Norway one Christmas and it melted my heart. A little girl, Patsy, lives on a trailer site near a little town in Alabama and becomes befriended by some of the residents. She makes friend with a redbird called Jack who becomes her bestfriend. Truly heartwarming.
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
I didn’t read this book as a child. In fact I read it for the first time two years ago. Black Beauty is a lovley natured horse who has a great life but his owners are forced to sell him and he starts a life of hardship and cruelty. But even among this there are kind, gentle people who want to help him and of course he makes lots of horsey friends. Lovely.
Dog Boy by Eva Hornung
I just loved this book and can’t understand why it’s not better known. In freezing, communist Moscow and 4 year old Ramochka is fending for himself on the streets when he follows a stray dog to its den and becomes one of their pack. This book is all about the bond between human and animal and it affected me so profoundly that I bawled my eyes out. Fantastic book.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Enzo is the most loyal and lovable dog in the world and he tells us the story of his family through his eyes. Cry much?
Homeless Rats by Ahmed Fagih
I will be reviewing this book tommorow so keep a look out for it.
If Only They Could Talk by Jame Herriott
And finally, if I absolutely HAD to pick one then the prize would go to the James Herriot series. I have only read the first two out of my boxset and I love knowing that I have all the rest to come. James Herriot is a vet in the Yorkshire Dales and his books are laugh-out-loud funny. James tried to fit into the town of hardened Yorkshire farmers and animals with minds of their own. My fabourite characters were Mrs Pumphrey and her dog Tricki Woo had me bent over double, crying with laughter!
Bewitching…Although I can think of lots of books that I wish more people would read, this challenge was quite an easy one for me as I can’t understand why more people don’t read this book. When I read it in January 2010 it instantly became a favourite and I passed it on to my mum who read it, fell in love with it and has read it again since: in fact it is now her all-time favourite book (and she is as much as a reader and book-lover as I am).
The book I am referring to is called Witch Light, although when I read it in hardback it was called Corrag. Here is my review from back then:
“Rarely does a book bewitch (pardon the pun) and mesmorise me quite so much as this one. It is truly one of the most beautiful and lyrical books I have ever read.
The story is narrated by Corrag, a 16 year old girl who is awaiting being burned at the stake for being a witch in 17th century Scotland. Corrag is visited in jail by Charles Leslie, an Irish Jacobite who wants to prove that the recent massacre in Glencoe was the work of the soldiers under William of Orange. Corrag is English and has run away “north and west” at the command of her mother who is about to be hung for also being a witch. Corrag takes the old and beaten horse of a cruel neighbour, a grey mare who becomes her best and only friend, and spends the next year living off the land and making her way north-west where she arrives in Glencoe. At first the clan is wary of her, but over time they welcome her into the fold although she still lives in her self-made little hut on the moor.
What is magical about this book is Corrage’s voice. She lives, breathes and dreams nature and the land around her. Every tiny thing is spoken of with such love and passion and she notices everything – a dew drop on a leaf, the changing colours of the rocks through the day, the silver sand as the grey mare gallops over beaches in the moonlight. The way she narrates is lyrical and equistite and the world she inhabits makes you feel like you can breathe again. Despite her life so far and her hardships, she has such a capacity for love and kindness for eveyone she meets.
Through her visits from Charles Leslie, Corrag tells her life story from her birth through to the night her friends were slain in a Scottish valley during a blizzard. Each person is wary of the other at the beginning – Leslie returns daily as he is waiting for details on who was behind the massacre (believing it to be the new King) and Corrag is determined that her life will not be forgotten. After several weeks they find a strange comfort in each other and a friendship is born. Corrag has found companionship in her final days and Leslie learns to see whe world through fresh eyes.
I honestly just loved this book. It has now become a firm favourite and I am sorry it has ended. I have never read any of Susan Fletchers other two books but I will now be seeking them out.
Highly, highly recommended!”
I really, really hope that I have persuaded you to read this book – I can’t rave about it enough.
It’s party time!I do love to read chicklit from time to time – it’s my my way of comforting and soothing the soul or refreshing the palate between heavier reads. Shopping, handbags, office romances, holidays in the sun, I’m not fussy so long as it cheers me up and leaves me with a smile on my face.
I have spoken before about my favourite authors in this genre and Sophie Kinsella and Katie Fforde are my top two but I also really enjoy Jane Fallon, Paige Toon, Jane Green and Adele Parks to name a few more. The book I have chosen to go with, though, is by Christina Jones who is an author I haven’t mentioned on my blog before. Not only did I absolutely adore this book, but it’s also called Happy Birthday (and afterall this is my birthday challenge 
).
Happy Birthday host a wonderfully quirky cast an quaint English villages with funny names. The story centres on Phoebe, a list-making, highly-oragnised, horoscope reading hairdresser who turned up for her immaculately planned wedding to discover that the groom hasn’t. As Phoebe tries to come to terms with what’s happened and carry on alone, she has to put up with the return of Rocky, her noisy, bad-tempered neighbour as well. Then she meets Essie, a glamorous pensioner who dabbles in something called Happy Birthday magic and that’s when things take a turn…
Happy Birthday is a wonderful, magical read. I adored all the characters and there is such humour and comedy moments that I laughed out loud in places. Loved, loved, loved it.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star…When I was a little girl I loved Twinkle comics and every year my Auntie, Uncle and cousin would buy me the annual for Christmas. In the 1974 version there was a story called Rosie the Reindeer and each year after that, on Christmas Eve and once I was in my pyjamas, I would sit on my dad’s knee and he would read me this story. He laughs because even now if I see him on Christmas Eve I bring it with me so he can read it to me (although I don’t sit on his knee anymore!)
That Twinke annual is now battered, bruised and taped up with celotape but I still love it and I still know most of the stories in there by heart. I will never, never part with my pink Twinke annual.
I posted about this book last Christmas and I wrote the whole story of Rosie and The Reindeer out in full so to read it and see more pictures click here.
It’s finally here – Thrill Week – where myself and 6 other blogs will be celebrating all things crime fiction (one of my favourite genres). Pop on over to host Marce’s blog (Tea Time with Marce) to see her answers to the following questions and then have a peek at these lovely bloggers too – you’re bound to get some ideas and inspiration about which books you should be reading:
Mental Foodie – A Book and Food Lover
1) What is your favourite genre out of Thriller, Mystery, Suspense and Horror? Why?
I think I would have to say mystery. I love a good whodunnit and especially love trying to work out the perpetrator as early on as I can (what I especially love is, despite being a seasoned crime fic reader, the author can still fool me).
2) Who are your top 3 authors in those genres?
Tess Gerritsen, Val McDermid, Mary Higgins Clark.
Both Gerritesen and McDermid I love because of their ability to pull me in from page one with promises of high body counts, red herrings and clever psychological and forensic detail. I like intelligent crime fiction and these two are among the best for me. Mary Higgins Clark, on the other hand, is my Queen of Comfort in the crime genre. Her books are pretty formulaic but that’s what I love as I know what I’m going to get and she has never failed to deliver. I think MHC is a fantastic author who gets overlooked a lot but, for me, if I ever need a comfort read then she is at the top of my pile (and despite her books being formulaic, I hardly ever guess whodunnit until the end).
I am really excited to have have interviewed Mary Higgins Clark last year and I also have interviews with both Tess Gerritsen and Val McDermid coming up shortly so keep an eye out for those
3)Tell us who your favourite male and female authors are in the genre?
Female: Tess Gerritsen, Val McDermid, Mary Higgins Clark, Agatha Christie, Elly Griffiths, S J Bolton, Karen Rose, Tana French, Lisa Gardner
Male: Linwood Barclay, Harlan Coben, Jo Nesbo, Steig Larsson, Peter Robinson, James Patterson, Robert Goddard
Interestingly enough, I was able to immediately write down all the names of my favourite female authors, but with the exception of the first two males I had to go off and check what books I had read (which was accompanied by many “oh yeah”‘s) Wonder why that is?
4) What book do you remember loving but don’t remember the details?
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I read this when I was in my early teens and again in my twenties but I don’t remember a thing about it other than there are 10 people who are called to an island and one by one they are killed off and the reader has to try to work out who is doing it. I could read it again today and still have no idea until the end. In fact, I really must read it again – it’s a fantastic book and I highly recommend it!
Thriller – The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
Mystery – Sacrifice by S J Bolton
Suspense – Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson
Horror – Carrie by Stephen King
Hill & Jordan – Val McDermid (Detective and Criminal Pyschologist who work together to solve serial killer cases and really get into the mind of the perpetrators. Brilliant series!)
Ruth & Nelson – Elly Griffiths (I love these two! Detective and Forensic Archaeologist who solve some old and new crimes when bones have been found. You gotta love Ruth & Nelson!)
The Millenium Trilogy – Stieg Larsson (Swedish Journalist, Blomkvist, gets involved in some high profile cases with the aid of his rather unique sidekick, Lisbeth Salander.)
Inspector Alan Banks – Peter Robinson (Set in the Yorkshire Dales where it’s supposed to be rural and sleepy except bodies keep turning up, leaving Inspector Alan Banks to investigate. Great series.)
Gretchen Lowell – Chelsea Cain (Not for the feint hearted. Gretchen Lowell is sick, sick, sick but you can’t help but read about her exploits).
8 What authors have you tried and look forward to reading more from them?
Linda Castello – I have read her first book in a series of crime books set in the Amish community, Sworn to Silence, and loved it so I am looking forward to reading the next two
Jane Casey – Has written 3 books and I have only read the second one, The Burning, which I loved.
Karen Rose – I have only read her latest book, You Belong to Me, and I really enjoyed it and am very excited to know that I have 10 more of hers waiting to be read!
Stephen Beckett – Againm, I have only read the first one (The Chemistry of Death) out of the 4 books he has written so far with the same lead character so I have more to look forward to.
Jilianne Hoffman – Despite loving Retribution (see above) I still haven’t read the other book by the author but I do have it at home so I am looking forward to diving in to that one.
Day two of my 40 day book challenge and you have no idea how badly I wanted to go to this school when I was a little girl……I say little girl, but I have actually read this series about once every 5 or so years since then and I STILL want to go! How badly I wanted to roll up to the front of the huge cliff-side building in my father’s roller, kiss goodbye to my sweet-smelling mother and run off to meet my friends for terms filled with lacrosse games, high teas, midnight feasts on the beach with lashings and lashings of ginger beer and of course playing hilarious pranks on the French mistress while evenings would be spent in the common room darning my own socks while discussing who would play what in the christmas pantomime. Oh joy! What I’d give….
It’s the first day of my 40 day book challenge and first up is a favourite book this year so far.
It’s always really difficult to pick just one book, especially as I read from different genres and my reading tends to ebb and flow depending on my moods.
Anyway, I have gone for Santa Montefiore’s The house by The Sea just because I read it at the exact right time – it wrapped round me like a huge snuggly blanket and I smiled from start to finish. I found it the perfect summer read and just what I needed. If you’re looking for a magical and comforting book to escape with then look no further.
In three words:Magaical, comforting, friendships
I didn’t intend to read this book: I came to it by accident after mistakenly believing that my Maeve Binchy days were behind me. Twenty plus years ago I devoured her books – Echoes, Light a Penny Candle, Circle of Friends etc – they were wonderful and comforting and epic and saw me through my teens. Then I moved on to other authors. Last month, when on a Greek Island and having finished all the books I had taken with me I needed something else to read and picked this book out of a miniscule selection of about 10 books in the little supermarket near our villa. This book was set in Greece and it would be a blast from the past, but I was completely unprepared for how much I loved it!
Nights of Rain and Stars starts in a little Greek taverna high on a hill and 6 strangers gather to watch the horrifying explosion of a tour boat in the harbour below. Fiona and her horrible boyfriend Shane are from Ireland, Elsa is from Germany, Thomas from America and David from England eat and talk together with the Greek owner of the taverna well into the night and soon feel that they have been friends for a long time and their friendship continues through the next few weeks as they all discover more about each other and what they are running away from.
Anyone who is familiar with Maeve Binchy will know what to expect: she is an author who write about (and gets spot on) friendships and relationships and she is a gifted story-teller who places the reader right there in the book with the characters. What I loved about this book was not only feeling that the author was writing about the place I was – the pine forests, the food, the lemon trees and olive groves, but it made me remember just why I loved her all those years ago.
Verdict: Warms the heart and cools & sooths the brain.
(source: I bought my copy of this book)
In three words:Mystery, Norfolk, bones
Elly Griffiths books are like my guilty pleasure without the guilt; I devour them and am always left wanting more.
The House at Sea’s End is the third book in the Ruth Galloway series. Ruth is a Forensic Archaeologist who lives on the Norfolk coast and examines bones for a living, sometimes having to help the police in their serious crimes unit to establish what may have happened to bones that can’t be immediately identified by the police. Ruth Galloway is one of my favourite crime heroines: she lives in a tiny cottage on a remote part of Norfolk by the salt marshes, she is slightly overweight, she has a cat, she reads lots of books and enjoys her own company – I heart Ruth! In this book, however, she has something other than serious crimes to concentrate on and that is motherhood. After a one-night stand with Detective Harry Nelson in the first book, Ruth has now given birth to Kate, whom turns out to be a whole mystery of her own. Of course, Nelson is back in this latest book too and I must admit to having a little crush on him.
The House at Sea’s End brings us the mystery of six skeletons that are found by a team of Archaeologists in the cliff’s on the Norfolk coast. Nelson and Ruth are amazed to discover that the bones are from Germany and could very well belong to German soldiers from WW2 – but how and why did they get there and who is trying to put them off the trail?
What I love about this series is that not only are these books great reading with a simplicity that makes me think of them as comfort reading (as opposed to hard-boiled crime fic) but the characters and so well drawn and developed throughout the books that I could read them for this alone; I just love following Ruth and Nelson’s story and meeting back up with characters such as Cathbad; it’s like meeting up with old friends. What I also love is the bleakness of the setting (and who can resist the covers for the books in this series?)
Have you read any of these books yet? If not, what are you waiting for? Highly recommended.
PS/ For any other fans out there – I have heard from Elly that she has now finished her fourth book in the series (not sure if I am allowed to say what it’s about or not so won’t just in case, but it sounds like another unusual crime and we can expect more in the Ruth / Nelson tale – yippee!). It will be on sale in the UK in January 2012 ☺
(souce: this book was sent to me for review by Quercus – thank you)
In three words:Love, summer, friendships
The House by the Sea is a lovely tale that follows two stories – one set in the present in Devon and the other in 1966 Tuscany. I can sometimes have a problem with these types of books where the narrative isn’t linear as I have found that I end up enjoying one story more than the other. Not the case with The House by the Sea though – not only does each segment last for about 100 pages, giving the reader ample time to become emmersed in that part, but both the present and past are equally wonderful.
The prologe starts in Tuscany in 1966 and sets the scene perfectly for what is to come. Ten year old Floriana lives with her alcoholic father and no mother and spends her summer wandering up to the huge beautiful house and peering longingly through the wall at the gardens she aches to be in. One day she is spotted by 16 year old Dante who brings her inside and there begins a friendship that will last for years.
The story then shifts to Devon in 2009 and Mariana and her husband Grey are gearing up for the summer at their hotel on the cliff by trying to find an artist in residence to help entice guests to earn enough money to prevent them having to sell the hotel. Enter Rafa, a gorgeous 37 year old Argentinian who wows everyone he meets.
As both stories develop we begin to get hints and clues as to how both stories may interwine and to what secret Rafa may be hiding. The cast of characters is varied and vibrant and and I loved getting to know them all (even the brattish Clementine) and following their stories.
I have never read any books by Santa Montefiore before but I will be on the hunt for more now. She has actually written eleven, I believe, and if they are anything like The House by the Sea I cannot wait to hunt them down and get stuck in.
Verdict: A wonderful, magical read. Quite possibly my favourite book of 2011 so far. If you want a great read for this summer then look no further. Highly recommended!
(source: I received this book for review from Simon & Schuster)
Kidnap, idnetity-theft, secrets
My Queen of Comfort Reads has done it again – I can always rely on Mrs Higgins Clark to whisk me away to somewhere on the US east coast (NYC in this case) and allow me to escape for a few hours with plots to solve and baddies to catch.
Alexandra (Zan) Moreland is in turmoil on what would have been the 5th birthday of her son Matthew who was kidnapped two years ago in broad daylight while out with his babysitter in Central Park. Despite no trace of Matthew ever being found, Zan has still not been able to give up hope that he is still alive somewhere. But just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, a photo appears in the paper that appears to show her scatching her own child from his pushchair in the park. Not only that but purchases are being made from Zan’s personal and business account for things she knows she didn’t order…..or did she? As Zan starts to doubt her own sanity, someone is clearly at work attempting to destroy her. But why?
Although I thoroughly enjoyed this book (as always) I didn’t find it one of her best. I think more could have been made of putting Zan in some danger as it was really all done remotely and even though Zan sometimes doubts her own sanity, we the reader are left in no doubt that it is not her who is doing this but someone else. I also had an inkling early on as to who the perp might be and I was right but to be honest I couldn’t quite fathom out why they would go to such extreme lengths to destroy Zan (by taking her child): the reason didn’t seem quite right to me.
Verdict: Another pacey thriller and fans of Higgins Clark will love this. If you haven’t read any of her other books yet then I demand that you do! Recommended.
(source: I received this book for review from Simon & Schuster)
Secrets, friendships, betrayal
This is my first of a book by Adele Parks and I can now safely say that it won’t be my last. It’s like chicklit for grown-ups, i.e. it’s moved past the shopping for handbags and giggling at the water-cooler and on to school-runs, clandestine meetings in the theatre and sustaining life-long friendships.
Pip and Steph have been friends since school and are still in each others lives. Pip is the gregarious one, the one who lives in constant chaos but is great fun to be around and Steph is the steady, dependable, sensible one; the one who never sets a foot out of line – that is until she does and asks Pip to cover for her (which means lying to the police about where she was). As well as Pip and Steph, the cast of brilliantly drawn characters include Kirsten, a gorgeous, glamorous young girl who has no choice but to work in a London firm as Daddy has stopped dishing out the dosh (but don’t feel too sorry for her, she sleeps with half the Directors of the business – well one of them is bound to fall in love with her, leave their wife and keep her in the life of luxury she so deperately wants, right?). I don’t want to give too much away about Kirsten or what her role in the book is, as it’s always more fun to find out for yourself. However, it’s suffice to say that I found Kirsten so hideous and shallow a person that I am really struggling to believe that there are people out there like her – there must be, but I never want to meet them. All credit to Parks for making her more human and me feel sorry for her by the end though (grrr!)
What I liked about this book, aside from the character development, was the fact that I was kept guessing about what had happened and what was about to happen enough to keep me interested and turning the pages. There’s moral dilemmas, betrayal and you will undoubtably question yourself as to what you would do in this situation. Park has done a wonderful job in showing us her characters rather than just telling us about them, and it is easy to feel the tension and dilemmas as they do.
Verdict: Bags of personality, a fun read without being frothy. Recommended.
(source: this copy was sent to me for review from Headline Review)
The Blurb:“Sian Bishop has only ever experienced one moment of recklessness – a moment that resulted in her beloved son Rory. It’s not that she doesn’t love the outcome of that wild night, but since then she has always taken the safer route. So when dependable, devoted Richard suggests a move to the beautiful English countryside, she leaves the hustle and bustle of the city behind, and she throws herself into the picture-postcard cottage garden, her furniture restoration business, and a new life in the country.
Her good intentions are torpedoed on a glorious summer’s evening with the arrival of Gus Berresford. One-time explorer and full-time heartbreaker, Gus is ridiculously exciting, wonderfully glamorous and a completely inappropriate love interest for a single mum. But Gus and Sian have met before…
Sian has no use for a fling, she simply mustn’t fall in love with the most unlikely suitor ever to cross her path – even if he has now crossed her path twice. But who knows what can happen in a summer of love…”
(source: amazon.co.uk)
Have you ever read a Katie Fforde book? If not, I am going to try to persuade you why you should. I am a huge Katie Fforde fan. HUGE! But more on that later….
Summer of Love is set in a quaint English village: Young single mum, Sian, and her 4 year old son Rory arrive to rent a little cottage with a garden where they can grow their own vegetables and get away from London. Their relationship is warm and touching and believable (not a superwoman-can-do-it-all or yummy-mummy in sight). Enter Fiona, a local woman in her 50′s who not only provides Sian with friendship but also provides the reader with comic relief (capers including internet dating with disasterous results).
Sian has got used to brining Rory up on her own, so when Fiona hosts a village dinner party at her home, the last thing she expects is someone from her past to walk right in. Despite there still being a spark between Sian and Gus there are also a couple of obstacles in the way in the form of Richard who is head over heals in love with Sian (but she finds him too dull) and Melissa (who clings to Gus’s side like a limpet at every available opportunity).
What makes the characters in Katie Fforde’s books so wonderful is that the characters are normal: like you and me. They have their hopes and their fears and they drink lots of tea! Whenever I finish a Katie Fforde I always feel a little lost without my “new friends”. I just love a book that enraptures me so much that when I look up I realise that I am in my front room in Yorkshire and not in some little summery village wearing a floaty dress.
Verditct: cosy, wonderful characters and idyllic settings, romance, comedy. Summer of Love is every bit as sumptuous as her previous books.
(source: I bought this book)
What I love about Katie Ffordes books is that they are the ultimate comfort reads. Imagine yourself in any of the following situations: a hot bubble bath with a mug of cocoa, curled up by the fire sipping red wine, sitting in your favourite armchair with a wonderfully snuggly cashmere blanket draped around you, sitting on a sun-drenched terrace in the Mediterranean sipping white wine, diving into a vat of melted chocolate (OK, frankly I could do any of these right now) and that is the feeling you get when reading a Katie Fforde. Pure escapism into the lives of likeable people who live in quaint villages, talk “frightfully posh” and entertain us with their slighly scewiff lives before it all comes together. There is romance, light comedy and oodles of sparkle.
This is the sixth Fforde I have read and as she now has 16 books I still have plenty more to look forward to. The first one I read as Practically Perrfect when it was recommended to me about 3 years ago. At the time I was going through a reading slump as I was so busy at work and my brain couldn’t cope with anything heavy. Caroline, who was the leader of my local bookgroup at Waterstones recommended that I read this as it would be a tonic for my frazzled brain. I remember looking at it and thinking “really?” At the time, I didn’t read any form of “chicklit”, but with Caroline normally having great taste in books I decided to give it a go. I LOVED IT!!! Not only did this turn out to be the beginning of my love affair with Katie Fforde but also with chicklit in general when I realised that I had been unecessarily snobbish and in fact most of them are great fun and true escapism.
Practically Perfect: “Anna, a newly qualified interior designer, has decided it’s time to put her money and her expertise where her mouth is. She’s risked everything on buying a tiny but adorable cottage so she can renovate it, sell it on, and prove to her family that she can earn her own living. Outside, the chocolate-box cottage is perfect, but inside all is chaos: with a ladder for a staircase, no downstairs flooring, candles the only form of lighting and a sleeping bag and camping mat for a bed, Anna’s soon wondering whether she’s bitten off more than she can chew. Her neighbour Chloe comes to the rescue, providing tea, wine and sympathy – and a recently rescued greyhound, Caroline. But just as Anna’s starting to believe she’s found the perfect idyll, the good-looking yet impossible Rob Hunter arrives on the scene, putting up more obstacles than the Grand National. Can Anna get over all of life’s hurdles? This is probably my favourite – maybe because it was the first one I read, but also because it features a gorgeous dog in it which I fell totally in love with.”
Love Letters: “With the bookshop where she works about to close, Laura Horsley, in a moment of uncharacteristic recklessness, finds herself agreeing to help organise a literary festival deep in the heart of the English countryside. But her initial excitement is rapidly followed by a mounting sense of panic when reality sinks in and she realises just how much work is involved – especially when an innocent mistake leads the festival committee to mistakenly believe that Laura is a personal friend of the author at the top of their wish-list. Laura might have been secretly infatuated with the infamous Dermot Flynn ever since she studied him at university, but travelling to Ireland to persuade the notorious recluse to come out of hiding is another matter. Determined to rise to the challenge she sets off to meet her literary hero. But all too soon she’s confronted with more than she bargained for – Dermot the man is maddening, temperamental and up to his ears in a nasty case of writer’s block. But he’s also infuriatingly attractive – and, apparently, out to add Laura to his list of conquests … This one is set in a bookshop and organising a literary festival - a book about books and working with books and more books! Perfect! Seriously, what’s not to love? Love Letters is one of my very favourites.”
Artsistc Lisence: “Single, thritysomething Thea traded her promising career as a photographer for the quiet countryside of the English Cotswalds. But when she meets a promising, sexy Irish painter while vacationing in Provence, her creative spirit is unexpectedly reawakened. Impressed by Rory’s charm, but even more taken by his talent, Thea is determined to showcase his paintings for the art world. Resisting his sex appeal, convincing him to forgo the London art scene, and transforming an abandoned building into a cutting-edge gallery in the less-than-hip countryside all give Thea more of a challenge than she bargained for. Add to the mix a group of old friends, some reluctant teens, a box full of new-born puppies, and a new romantic prospect or two, and this novel delivers art, friendship, love, sex, and delicious new beginnings. I loved all the settings in this book – France, the Cotswolds, Ireland. Idyllic and fun – with puppies to boot. What’s not to love?”
Flora’s Lot: “Flora Stanza has sub-let her London life in a bid to join the family antiques business. Her knowledge of antiques extends only to the relics of information she has crammed from frantic daytime TV watching, but what she lacks in experience she makes up for in blind enthusiasm. So she is more than a little put off when she doesn’t receive the warm country welcome she expected. Her curt, conservative cousin Charles and his fiancee Annabelle are determined to send Flora packing, and their offer to buy out her recently inherited majority-share of the business is tempting, until a strange warning makes her think twice. Stuck with a cat about to burst with kittens, Flora has little choice but to accept the offer to stay in an abandoned holiday cottage miles from any neighbours, let alone a trendy winebar. And between fighting off dinner invitations from the devastatingly handsome Henry, and hiding her secret eco-friendly lodger, William, Flora soon discovers country life is far from dull as she sets about rebuilding the crumbling business. More animals in this book – this time in the form of a cat who is about to give birth to a basket full of kittens at any time.”
Restoring Grace: “Ellie Summers’ life is unravelling. A couple of months ago, she was quite happy living with her boyfriend Rick in their little cottage, producing paintings of local people’s homes. But now, finding herself pregnant – and discovering that Rick is less than enthusiastic about imminent parenthood – things seem rather more complicated. Grace Soudley’s life has been coming apart for more than a couple of months. Abandoned by her unsuitable husband for another woman, her only real security is the wonderful old house she was left by her godmother. She’s scraped together enough money to repair the roof but, riddled with damp and dry rot, Luckenham House is in serious danger of disintegrating around her unless she finds some more money fast. When Ellie and Grace meet, the two very different women suddenly find they can help each other out. Ellie needs a place to stay; Grace needs a lodger. Both of them need a friend. But then Grace’s step-daughter Demi arrives on the scene, followed by the disconcertingly engaging Flynn Cormack – who seems determined to help. And when Grace discovers some beautiful painted panels – which may or may not be rather valuable – hidden behind the tattered dining room curtains, the whole business of restoration starts to get serious.”
Honestly, these books are like pouring a soothing balm over all your troubles. Pure escapism and highly recommended. Enjoy!
The Blurb:”After years of romantic drought, Nell is enjoying a thrilling fling with a sexy new man and lovingLondonlife, somehow managing to juggle single motherhood with a busy career. Plus, in the city it’s easy to avoid her sister who is about to marry Nell’s ex. (Yes, messy.) Then she gets the news. Please could she return to Tredower, the crumbling old family home inCornwallfor the summer? Disaster. Tredower has no wifi, harbours her big dysfunctional family, and, far worse, memories of her passionate love affair with the man who is about to become her brother-in-law. The past is another county. Can she go there?
Another woman is making her way west too, carrying an explosive secret. Love will be lost, broken, and found, lives changed forever…”
(source: amazon.co.uk)
I was in the mood for something light, fun and summery and then this landed on my doormat. Hallelujah!
Nell is a career-minded single mum living in London with a pristine appartment, an enviable wardrobe, friends she loves and a daughter she adores (the result of a one-night-stand 5 years ago). What could possibly happen to turn her cosy life upside down? Well, for starters her sister has announced that she’s getting married to Jeremy, the once love of Nell’s life who started dating her sister only days after the split up (nice!), then she gets made redundant from her glamorous journalism job and the cherry on top is that her mother has had a stroke and needs one of her 3 children to up-sticks and move to her big house in Cornwall where there is nothing to do and not a Prada shoe in sight to look after her. Naturally Nell puts her foot down. It will not be her! Several weeks later, Nell and daughter Cass roll up to Cornwall, miserable and teetering in wholly inpracticle designer wedges…..
This book was just what I needed. Nothing too heavy, somewhat predictable – there’s bound to be a man who appears unsuitable but just may be fall-in-love material, right? Right. Now throw in a new-found respect for the elements, freedom, happy children, and a little mystery in the shape of stranger in town who is carrying a huge secret and there you just about have it.
Verdict: A great book for curling up and chilling out with. Likable characters, lovely setting, little mystery (albeit not difficult to solve early on), hunky surfer-dude, family traumas that have a way of working themselves out and a satisfactory ending (i.e. leaves you smiling and happy you’ve read it).
(source: This book was sent to me by Headline Review – thank you!)
The Blurb:“Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn’t simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life’s ordeals.
On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoë at his side.
A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life…as only a dog could tell it.”
(source: goodreads.com)
I am not just a sucker for books about / narrated by animals – I love them: In fact in real life I quite often prefer animals to people. Some of my favourite books ever are Life of Pi, Animal Farm and Water for Elephants so why this book has sat on my shelf for the last few years in anyones guess. Anyway, this lovely dog finally got his moment as I curled up to read his tale.
The book is narrated by Enzo, who starts off by telling us that he is an elderly dog and knows he is not long for this world and feels that he is ready for what comes next (i.e. dying and then coming back as a man in his next life):
“In Mongolia, when a dog dies, he is buried high in the hills so people cannot walk on his grave. The dog’s master whispers into the dog’s ear his wishes that the dog will return as a man in his next life. The his tail is cut off and put beneath his head, and a piece of meat or fat is placed in his mouth to sutstain his soul on its journey; before he is reincarnated, the dog’s soul is freed to travel the land, to run across the high desert plains for as long as he would like.
I learned that from a program on the National Geographic Channel, so I believe it is true. Not all dogs return as men, they say; only those who are ready.
I am ready.”
If you have ever wondered what’s on a dogs mind then look no further. Enzo is a wonderful character and narrator, and he takes the reader on a wonderful, funny, heartbreaking and memorable journey. Enzo’s master, Dennis, works in a BMW garage but his one big ambition is to make it as a Formula-1 driver. This is where Enzo’s passion for racing comes in as he has spent many an hour watching the sport on the TV with Dennis and also when he is left at home for long periods the racing channel is often left on for him to watch while he is on his own. When Dennis gets married and has a little girl, Zoe, Enzo has a whole new family to dote on and it is their life (with it many ups and downs) that he takes us on a journey with.
I loved Enzo’s quiet wisdom, his loyalty and his philosophy. He is a brilliantly insicive, clever, witty and sensitive dog:
““…I don’t understand why people insist on pitting the concepts of evolution and creating against each other. Why can’t they see that spiritualism and science are one? That bodies evolve and sols evolve and the universe is a fluid place that marries them both in a wonderful package called a human being. What’s wrong with that idea?”
Yes, there are some heartbreaking moments but I promise that you will smile through the tears. If you’ve ever loved an animal / pet or ever wondered what they think and feel and what happens when they’re gone then give this book a go. I adored it.
(source: this book is from my own shelves)
And now here’s a treat – just because I absolutely love this dog. This You Tube clip is doing the rounds at the moment and I can’t stop laughing. So for all you dog fans out there (and even if you’re not) you’ll love this! Enjoy!
The Blurb:“Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski’s ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.
Jacob was there because his luck had run out – orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive ‘ship of fools’. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn’t have an act – in fact, she couldn’t even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.”
(source: www.goodreads.com)
It’s actually about 4 years since I read this book, but having just gone to the cinema to see the new film version it has reawoken lots of memories and made me want to read the book again; I loved it the first time around but I want to enter their world all over again.
This book is a real gem: a rare gem that thrills and shocks simultaniously. This is a beautifully written, well researched, off-beat love story about a young man called Jacob who (having been suddenly orphaned at the age of 22 while at university and in the age of the depression in America) finds himself, quite unexpectidley, working for a circus. Here we are treated to a feast of colourful (many rather unsavoury) characters (with dwarfes, bearded ladies and a whole host of animals). This book is just spectacular – the way that I was immersed into circus life was astounding, I really felt the atmosphere, the sounds, the smells; I was there in the big top, there on the train in the dead of night, there at the raucus after-show parties - Gruen did a fantastic job of setting the scene.
Animals are one of my biggest passions (along with books and travel) and therefore any book containing animals is usually a hit with me. Water for Elephants is not only a love story between Jacob and Marlena (a married woman whom he loves from afar) but also between Jacob and his animals, imparticular an elephant named Rosie whom I also fell in love with.
The story flits between Jacob as an old man in a nursing home (where a circus comes to town which brings back all his memories) and Jacob in the 1930′s during his circus years. This is a wonderfully written, engrosing, captivating novel and I felt lost when I had finished it; I truly had wothdrawal symptoms. Now after having seen the film (with the deeeeeeelicious Robert Pattinson – which is a good enough reason alone to go and see the film!) I want to immerse myself in this wonderuful vibrant and chaotic world that is The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. If you think you won’t like a book set in a circus, think again; there’s so much more to it and I promise you won’t be disappointed.
The Blurb:“Mary Lennox was horrid. Selfish and spoilt, she was sent to stay with her hunchback uncle in Yorkshire. She hated it. But when she finds the way into a secret garden and begins to tend it, a change comes over her and her life. She meets and befriends a local boy, the talented Dickon, and comes across her sickly cousin Colin who had been kept hidden from her. Between them, the three children work astonishing magic in themselves and those around them.”
(source: amazon.co.uk)
Am I the only person in the entire history of the world who didn’t read this book as a child? Was I deprived of books, I hear you ask, were my parents paper-hating non-bibliophiles? No, not at all! My parents were both teachers and were always reading to me and encouraging me to read my own books (which, of course, I did). So why then did this book pass me by? The answer eludes me, but hey – it’s been rectified and charmingly so.
When I received a copy of this gorgeous looking book in the post from Oxford World Classics, I knew it was high time I read this book. I had heard great things, knew it was a classic and pretty damn sure I would enjoy it and all the ingredients for a fun read were there. What I wasn’t prepared for was just HOW much I’d love it! Frances Hodgson Burnett is a funny lady – who knew??!
The book starts off with the incredibly spoilt Mary Lennox being taken back to England from India where she has lived all her life with her doting father and indulgent servants. She is sent to stay at the house of an uncle she has never met in the wilds of Yorkshire and she doesn’t like it one bit! At first she refuses to eat breakfast and mopes around feeling sorry for herself, but when she goes outside and reaslises how wonderful the moors and the gardens and grounds of the large, looming house are Mary begins to enjoy herself, especially when she finds an entrance to a secret garde that has been shut away for 10 years.
The characterisation is what made this book come alive for me. Mary and her two contempraries, Colin and Dickon, make an interesting trio (although do bear in mind when reading this that it was written in Edwardian times otherwise invalid Colin may grate on your nerves for being a pompous, bossy wimp rather than a sign of the times and circumstance).
If you haven’t read this book yet (are there more people out there besides me?) then I insist that you pick it up! It’s wonderful, twee, humorous and the perfect escapism into a childhood long gone. Loved it.
(source: I received my copy of this book from OWC)
The Blurb:“Agatha Raisin has never been one for enforced holiday cheer, but her friendly little village of Carsely has always prided itself on its traditional Christmas festivities. But this year the bells will not be ringing out Silent Night as Mr John Sunday, an officer with the Cotswold Health and Safety Board, has chosen Christmas as the time to crack down what he sees as gross misconduct by every man, woman, and child in the vicinity. The village shop is told it can no longer have wooden shelves which have been there since the time of Queen Victoria ‘in case someone is inflicted with a splinter’. The village school is ordered to leave lights on at night ‘to prevent unauthorized intruders from tripping in the dark’. And children are warned to not play with ‘counterfeit banknotes’ after passing around toy money in the playground. But finally Mr Sunday goes too far when he rules that there cannot be a Christmas tree atop the church tower this year. Soon after the decree and just before Christmas, Agatha is sipping a cup of tea and trying to stay awake as minute by minute of the Carsely Ladies Society meeting at the vicarage drones on when a sudden scream wakes her from her stupor. The ladies rush out of the building and into the garden to find Sunday lying face down in the petunias, very much dead. Agatha is instantly on the case, but with so many people having threatened the life of the victim, it’s almost impossible to know where to start.”
(source: amazon.co.uk)
I was really looking forward to listening to this on audio book in my car – a cosy mystery, Christmas tree on the front, what’s not to love?
To be honest, although I did enjoy it, it sort of left me a little “meh”. This was my first time making the acquaintance of Agatha Raisin and part of what I was looking forward to the most was the promise of festive fun on these freezing cold December mornings, but it reality the book spans a year and Christmas barely gets mentioned.
Penelope Keith (treasured UK actress, played the comdey genius Margot in The Goode Life) is the narrator and although her plummy accent is perfect for how I imagine Agatha Raisin herself, PK’s other accents left a little to be desired (and made me cringe on many an occasion).
Although this book got me through a few long car journeys and put a smile on my face on occasion, I still couldn’t warm to it enough to say that I loved it. Bah humbug!
(I received this audio book for review from Amazon Vine)
The Blurb:“Dickens’ definitive Christmas tales including A Christmas Carol and four other stories are collected in a beautifully produced small hardback with embossed covers on the front and back. The Christmas Books were first published in a single volume in 1852, bringing together five stories which Charles Dickens wrote specially for the Christmas season, beginning in 1843 with A Christmas Carol. Over the next three years Dickens published “The Chimes,” “The Cricket on the Hearth,” and “The Battle of Life.” There was no story in 1847 but a fifth, “The Haunted Man,” appeared in 1848. The Christmas Books, and in particular A Christmas Carol, are considered so influential that they are credited with inventing our modern notion of Christmas itself.”
(souce: Amazon.co.uk)
Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol is one of my favourite books of all time. I didn’t read it until I was in my 30′s – I don’t know how it managed to pass me by but I suspect that it had a lot to do with the many dodgy TV adaptations that turned me off over the years.
Written in 1843, A Christmas Carol tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge: old, miserly and grumpy. He counts his money but never uses any of it to help what little family he has left and he lives a lonley and desolate life. One Christmas Eve, upon returning to his cold and miserable house after work, he is greeted by the ghost of Jacob Marley, his business partner of equal character to Scrooge and who died seven years previously. Marly tells Scrooge that if he doesn’t change his ways, he is destined to a rather firey afterlife.
The joy of reading this book, for me, came from the imigary so beautifully created by Dickens. I love my cosy books – cosy mysteries, chick-lit anything that warms my heart – but this book surpasses them all.
“”… along the streets, the brightness of the roaring fires in kitchens, parlours, and all sorts of rooms, was wonderful. Here, the flickering of the blaze showed preparations for a cosy dinner, with hot plates baking through and through before the fire, and deep red curtains, ready to be drawn, to shut out cold and darkness.”
Dickens takes us on a journey through Victorian London with Scrooge and his encountered ghosts (of Christmas past, present and future) and and creates a magical, funny, sad and heartwarming tale that will surely be as treasured by future generations as it has been by families for the last 170 years.
I was sent this gorgeous copy of the book (published by Whites) by Riot Communiations (and also a copy of the Jane Eyre book as they knew it was my favourite books – thank you!). I haven’t actually read Dickens’ other christmas books yet but I fully intend to curl up with them a few days before Christmas this year as a real treat.
The Blurb:“Twelve days and counting…
It’s Bea’s first Christmas with her baby son, and this year she’s determined to do everything right. But there is still so much to do: the Christmas menu needs refining; her café, The Honey Pot, needs decorating; and she’s invited the whole neighbourhood to a party on Christmas Day. She really doesn’t have time to get involved in two new people’s lives, let alone fall in love…
When Olivia gets knocked over in the street, however, Bea can’t help bringing her into The Honey Pot and getting to know her. Olivia’s life is even more hectic than her own, and with her fiancé’s entire family over from Ireland for Christmas, she shouldn’t be lingering in the cosy warmth of Bea’s café. Chloe, on the other hand, has nowhere else to go. Her affair with a married man has alienated her friends, and left her lonelier than ever.
But Christmas is a magical time, and in the fragrant atmosphere of The Honey Pot, anything can happen: new friends can be made, hearts can heal, and romance can finally blossom…”
(source: Amazon.co.uk)
I absolutely adored this book. What a fun, heart-warming tale to warm the cockles at Christmas. I thought the cover was gorgeous too – snow and twinkly lights and a cosy deli called The Honey Pot – I just wanted to step straight into the cover of the book.
All I Want for Christmas is about three women in their 30′s: Bea who owns The Honey Pot which is renowned for it’s scrumptious Italian food (she bought it with her Italian husband Mario, who is no longer on the scene) and she lives there with her toddler son, Luca, and is trying to rebuild her life. Olivia is a journalist and newly engaged to Kieran and appears to be getting cold feet about marriage, and Chloe is a high-flying lawyer who is having an affair with a married man and is very lonely on account of her rather sharp tongue. The three women fall into each others company accidentally and find theirselves involved in each others lives without realising it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book; so much that I wanted to go on reading it when it was over. It was the perfect book for this time of year and has certainly helped get my December off to a festive start.
(This book is from my own personal collection)
Ho Ho Ho!Last week I asked for recommendations for some feel-good Christmas reading – thank you to all who left me some great ideas for books for the festive season.
Some of the books I have already read (in previous years) and some of the others I am looking forward to reading.
So here is Santa’s list of festive books to see you through the holidays. Click on the book to get more information and ENJOY:
It’s Christmas!♪ ♫ Tis the season to be jolly, tra la la la laa – la la la laaaa ♫ ♪
Woop woop, now I can officially get excited now. It is December, it’s snowing and I have a pile of books perfect for the festive season all ready to read.
I will probably come as no surprise that I am joining in this challenge The rules are to read books about Christmas – YAY! Check out the link to the challenge here. Will anyone else be joining in?
The virtual advent tour is hosted over here and means that every day in Decmember we get to “open a window” on several blogs (who have been chosen for that particular day). The post can be about anything to do with Christmas. This is what it’s about: “Each day anyone who wants to participate takes turns sharing a treat with our friends here in blogland. For example it could be something about your family traditions, recipes, your country’s holiday traditions, or a favourite Christmas memory, movie, book, song…anything you like. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas we would like to hear about what your family does during the holiday season, whether it be celebrating Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or whatever it is that you do during this time”.
My post will be on Friday 17th December so make sure you pop by then to see what Christmassy treat I have in store.
I love Secret Santas, and especially when they involve books! I have my book all ready to send on to another blogger (whom I didn’t previously know so it was great to have a look around their blog). The person I am sending to is not in the UK either and actually lives in one of my favourite cities in the world so I was very excited about sending a book to them. I can’t wait to see what I get too….:)
Look, look, looooooook!!! Look at my lovely, shiny new books. I have already read one of them because I couldn’t wait. There’s nothing like curling up infront of my roaring fire at home while it’s snowing outside (it has been snowing here for the last 4 days) and reading a cheesey, heart-warming book – love ‘em!
The Blurb:“Ruth Galloway’s expertise is called upon when builders, demolishing an old house in Norwich, uncover the bones of a child minus the skull beneath a doorway. Is it some ritual sacrifice or just plain straightforward murder? DCI Harry Nelson investigates. The house was once a children’s home. Nelson traces the Catholic priest who used to run the place. He tells him that two children did go missing forty years before a boy and a girl. They were never found. When carbon dating proves that the child’s bones predate the home and relate to a time when the house was privately owned, Ruth is drawn ever more deeply into the case. But as spring turns into summer it becomes clear that someone is trying hard to put her off the scent by frightening her to death…”
(source: Amazon.co.uk)
So what do you do when you’re busy, busy, busy and you’re brain is crying out for a book that will allow you to slip inbetween the pages from one life into another with complete ease? This is exactly how I felt last week – with my brain all over the place with work stuff, and not one, not two but three abandoned books by my bedside I knew that I needed to turn to a trusty author. In this case, I went for the second in the series of books by Elly Griffiths: having only read one of her books this may have been a gamble but I knew that it was the perfect book as when I closed the pages of the first in the series a few months ago, I was already in love with the characters and the setting. I was right to trust my instinct. This book and me went together like peaches and cream.
Ruth Galloway is an (almost) 40 year old, single, slightly overweight, cat-loving, book-loving forensic archaeologist from Norfolk. In other words she analyses bones for a living, so when a local building firm dig up an old childrens home to make way for luxury apartments and a childs skeleton is found, Ruth is called in to look for clues. Ruth is joined agian by the fabulous Nelson from Norfolk Police as well as Cathbad, the purple-cloak-wearing-historian.
What I love about the first two books that I have now read is that the characters are like you and me. Urbanisation is replaced with small towns (the sort you and I live in), cops on the edge with drinking problems are replaced with a family man (OK, Nelson has been a naughty boy but I still love him – mainly ‘cos he’s northern and doesn’t suffer fools gladly), sexy protagonists are replaced with a down-to-earth, doesn’t-care-what-she-looks-like woman who likes books and cats (go Ruth!). How refreshing!
So in summary – a tonic for my weary soul. If you haven’t read The Crossing Places (the first book in the series) yet then I would strongly recommend that you do as it is a fantastic book to introduce you to the characters, but to be honest it doesn’t need to be read in order to read The Janus Stone. If you want to learn more about the author, here is the interview I did with Elly a few months ago.
(This book is from my own personal collection)
Comfort readingThere is nothing like curling up by the fire with a good book is there? Whether it’s with a glass of red wine or a big mug of hot chocolate, there are few things I enjoy more than spending long, quiet hours infront of the fire with my cats and a good book in hand – that is surely what heaven must look like.
So when I come across a book that describes exactly how I feel about books, it’s like a double whammy. I am currently reading Kate Morton’s new book The Distant Hours, which is a huge satisfying tome to spend my Sunday afternoon with for a start, but imagine my delight when I come across paragraphs like this:
“…I finally found myself standing at the open door of a bookshop. It’s natural in times of great perplexity, I think, to seek out the familiar, and the high shelves and long rows of neatly lined-up spines were immensley reassuring. The smell of ink and binding, the dusty motes in beams of strained sunlight, the embrace of warm, tranquil air, I felt I could breathe more easily. I was aware of my pulse slowing to its regular pace and my thoughts stilling their wings.”
Ahhhh. This could be me writing this. Now I know I said that one of my favourite things to do is to curl up infront of a fire with a book, but one of my other favourite things to do is to actually be in a bookshop. I swear, it’s like my own personal therapy; whatever else is going on in my life, whatever stress I am feeling, being in a bookshop is always a magical experience – row upon row of treasures all waiting to be explored. For me, a bookshop is the most powerful medicine no matter what the ailment. It’s like Christmas day every time I enter one.
“…I picked out favourite authors and titles like a teacher taking a roll-call. Bronte – presnet; Dickens – accounted for; Shelley – a number of lovely editions. No need to slide them out of place; just to know that they were there was enough, to brush them lightly with my fingertips.”
Does anyone else feel like this about bookshops? Is there really anything better? Does anything else soothe the soul better than being amongst all those undiscovered gems and familiar friends?
Hello and welcome to my blog. My name is Boof and I am a bookaholic. I have a very serious book-buying habit that I have yet to find a cure for (phew!). In this blog I read, review and discuss books - the good, bad and the downright ugly. I love all books and read from most genres. All reviews are my own thoughts and feelings about a book. I am not a literary critic so all a book needs to do to get a rave review is make me happy and glad that I've read it. Simples!
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